Powershell & Bash Scripting

Just a general question out to the Powershell community on whether anyone has to work with and manage both Powershell scripting / automation as well as bash shell scripting in their role / environment – Windows + Linux systems administration and support.

How do you keep sharp in both areas and do you come to Powershell from a NIX background or have you had to go to Bash scripting land from Windows / Powershell

How long have you been supporting both environments for?

Personally I find each great but the more I am pulled in one direction the harder the other pulls me back pretty quickly. They both remind me every now and again with a swift kick into the gutter – but that's life – get up and keep going!

I fall into this category. I've been working with Linux and Unix systems for close to 20 years now. I've been working with PowerShell on the Windows side for 5 to 6 years. I'd say currently my time is a 70/30 split between Linux and PowerShell.

PowerShell makes it possible for me to work with Windows without feeling like a floundering idiot. That said, the biggest hurdle I have when working with PowerShell isn't PowerShell itself but my general lack of Microsoft product knowledge (i.e. Exchange, SharePoint, IIS, System Center, etc). I tend to leverage our dedicated Windows admins (most of whom do not have strong programming or scripting backgrounds) as SMEs in order to get things done and/or help them out.

In terms of keeping sharp, I try to focus on fundamentals rather than any one specific technology.